The fires are over. It's time to heat things up to celebrate the difficult and amazing summer in our region.
Homes were burned to the ground, businesses were damaged, breathing was impaired across swaths of the province, and thousands of people were forced to flee.
It was also a time of generosity, the opening of hearts and homes, new community relationships forged, and the people of Prince George stepping up like never before in aid of our Cariboo brothers and sisters forced to evacuate here.
"This summer, we did something extraordinary. We welcomed more than 10,000 people into our community - 10,000 people who were fleeing wildfires in the Cariboo," said Mayor Lyn Hall. "On behalf of council: thank you Prince George. We're proud of how you stepped up and showed what hospitality really means in our region.
"But we can do more than say it, we can show it. Please join us in Canada Games Plaza this Saturday to give yourselves and your neighbours a well-deserved pat on the back for an extraordinary job well done."
To let those memories of summer 2017 wash over us in a sound wave, the City of Prince George is hosting a free downtown party with special musical guests DJ Ant, Barney Bentall and Glass Tiger.
This event is sponsored by The Citizen, Canadian Tire, Northern Lights Estate Winery, Pacific Western Brewing, Save-On-Foods, Integris, Kyle Sampson Event Entertainment, Coast Inn of the North, NR Motors, Husky Energy, 6ix Sigma Productions, District of Vanderhoof, 250 News, 94.3 the Goat and Country 97, CKPG, 101.3 the River, 99.3 the Drive, Central Display, and Papason Trucking.
